GLAAD warns AI could deepen anti-LGBTQ bias
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GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, speaking at Axios AI+NY Summit earlier this month. Photo: Mark Davis for Axios
AI systems are beginning to replicate the same anti-LGBTQ bias and misinformation problems that have long plagued social platforms, according to a new GLAAD report previewed at Axios' AI+NY Summit.
Why it matters: The problems GLAAD flags — biased training data, privacy risks, automated discrimination, misinformation and the suppression of legitimate speech — extend beyond LGBTQ users to other minorities and groups in political disfavor.
Driving the news: GLAAD's "Build for Everyone: A Framework for LGBTQ Representation and Safety in AI" report argues that AI is already shaping how people search for information, access health care, apply for jobs and participate online.
- The report cites harms including Meta's updated Llama 4 model recommending conversion "therapy" in response to queries and moderation systems that wrongly suppress legitimate LGBTQ content.
- It offers blunt and concrete recommendations to the industry: Fix the biased foundation; don't automate discrimination; maintain human oversight; respect data privacy and engage civil society.
What they're saying: "Neutrality is no longer an option," GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis says in the report, warning that AI systems can threaten LGBTQ people's "health, safety, and civil rights" when they treat LGBTQ lives as fringe or fail to catch disinformation.
Between the lines: GLAAD is trying to push AI companies before bad practices harden — especially because a small group of foundation models from OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic now feeds a much larger app ecosystem.
The big picture: GLAAD's report uses a similar approach to the one it has taken for several years in evaluating the safety of various social media platforms.
- In its first report, back in 2021, the organization laid out key issues and challenges, while subsequent reports graded the companies.
Go deeper: AI is ushering in a new era of colonialism
